There is a continuing need to identify methods of shipping laundry actives and other raw materials to expanding markets that overcome the cost-prohibitive barriers associated with investing capital in more conventional on-site production facilities at the targeted market.
Methods of shipping laundry actives, such as fabric softening actives (e.g., quaternary ammonium compounds) and detersive surfactants, include using large, on the order of 20,000 kg, shipping containers wherein a molten form of the laundry active is poured into the container and allowed to cool and solidify before being shipped. Upon arrival, heat is applied to the container to melt the solid laundry active, and the molten laundry active is then extracted from the container. There are significant capital costs and expenses associated with purchasing, maintaining and handling these large, heavy shipping containers. Additionally, heating the laundry active in such large shipping containers to extract the laundry active is problematic because part of the laundry active may become unstable and degrade under the conditions required for entirely melting the solid laundry active in a reasonable time.
Another method of shipping laundry actives is to manufacture the active as chips or flakes. The chips or flakes are typically transported in bags that contain about 23 kg (50 lb) of the material. Shipping laundry actives in this manner requires additional capital investment in the equipment required to produce the actives in this form and in the equipment needed to fill the bags. Filling and emptying bags is labor intensive and time consuming, and the bags are typically made from non-recyclable or non-reusable materials. Moreover, the chips or flakes tend to stick together and form large chunks, which further complicates their use in downstream product formulation.
There is a need to provide a low cost way to ship laundry actives, particularly to developing markets, in a form that requires low capital investment and reduced labor costs.